Tiff over cigarette price: Vendor assaults man with helmet | Bengaluru News
Bengaluru: A late-night argument over the price of a cigarette turned violent when a 29-year-old private firm employee was assaulted by a roadside tea vendor in Basaveshwaranagar. The incident occurred near Navrang Bridge at 11.50pm on June 4.As per the complaint filed by Kumaraswamy, a senior executive at a private firm, he stopped by a roadside tea vendor to buy a cigarette. Kumaraswamy asked vendor Sanjay, 32, to give him a cigarette for which the latter sought Rs 25.Kumaraswamy questioned why Sanjay was charging Rs 25 when the actual price is Rs 17. He told the vendor that a demand of Rs 20 would be reasonable as it was late. However, Sanjay turned aggressive, stating he charged the same amount every night and told Kumaraswamy to leave if he wasn’t willing to pay.Soon the argument heated up and Kumaraswamy questioned whether Sanjay has a licence to sell cigarettes at night. Angered by his question, Sanjay assaulted Kumaraswamy. When Kumaraswamy attempted to retaliate, Sanjay grabbed his helmet and struck him multiple times causing serious injury near his eye.Profusely bleeding, Kumaraswamy was rushed to KC General hospital by his friends. The following day, Kumaraswamy filed a complaint. Basaveshwaranagar police arrested Sanjay and released him on station bail.An officer confirmed that Sanjay had expressed his intention to file a counter-complaint, but since he had assaulted Kumaraswamy and was operating without due permission at night, police warned him against repeating such behaviour.
